The Canadian Inuit Dog

By Kim Han

Winner of the Global Book Awards Gold Medal!

As ruggedly beautiful as the circumpolar north in which it evolved, the Canadian Inuit Dog has been a vital partner to the Arctic's indigenous people for millennia, helping them travel, navigate, hunt and survive in t

• Language: English
• Publisher: Revodana Publishing
• Release date: Dec 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781943824519

Book preview

THE

CANADIAN

INUIT DOG

REVODANA PUBLISHING

81 Lafayette Avenue, Sea Cliff, N.Y. 11579

Copyright © 2018 Revodana Publishing

All rights reserved

ISBN: 978-1-943824-51-9

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher.

The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal.

www.revodanapublishing.com

In loving memory of Siu-Ling.

For Bing, Jeff, Diane, Timothy, Kina, Yi Zhen and Jin.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 From Wolf to Dog

Chapter 2 Ancient Beginnings

Chapter 3 On the Outside

Chapter 4 On the Inside

Chapter 5 Pack Structure

Chapter 6 Contributions to Arctic Life

Chapter 7 On the Brink of Extinction

Chapter 8 A Plan for Preservation

Chapter 9 Return of the Inuit Dog

Chapter 10 Today’s Canadian Inuit Dog

Acknowledgments

Resources

Bibliography

Foreword

By Allen Gordon

I met Siu-Ling Han in the early 1980s, when she was passing through my home community of Kuujjuaq, Nunavik. Little did I know that I would reconnect with her again in 2006, when I was seeking to get back to dog sledding with the original purebred Inuit Sled Dog. 

Knowing that traditional Inuit Dogs were still in use in Iqaluit, Nunavut, I contacted Matty McNair, who put me in touch with Siu-Ling. She also had a fine team of authentic Inuit Dogs there, and her female was expecting a litter in a few weeks. I am grateful to her for my first two beautiful female qimmiit, sisters Tarqirk and Piqatik, the foundation of my dog team today. 

The Canadian Inuit Dog: Icon of the Canada’s North is a great book by Kim Han, written with passion in memory of her daughter and the tremendous love she has for her. Kim is ever so proud that Siu-Ling was able to enjoy life with the people of the north, even partaking in traditional sled-dog racing.

Kim writes about the toughest dog on earth, the only dog in the world that allowed humans for the first time to reach both north and south poles when attempts with different animals had failed. Kim also touches on a sad, dark history regarding the killings of sled dogs by the authorities. I was too young when it happened, but have heard many accounts and stories from elders. It brings to light the very wide communication gap that existed back then when governments arrived in the north. With a total lack of understanding of our culture, they merely saw the sled dog as a negative that needed to be controlled. 

The aboriginal Inuit Sled Dog is not well known to this day. I still have to explain to visitors to my region of Nunavik that it is special, and a vital part of Inuit history across the Arctic. If it weren’t for the Inuit Sled Dog, my Inuit ancestors would not have survived and travelled great distances to populate the Arctic.  

Allen Gordon and his dog team in 2010. Photo: Pierre Dunnigan. ©Makivik.

Kim having written this book is very positive in delivering and spreading the knowledge about the Inuit Sled Dog, rather small in numbers, to a wide audience.

Allen Gordon is a musher, tourism outfitter-guide and elected official in Kuujjuaq for more than 20 years. Executive director of the Nunavik Tourism Association and a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, he founded the first Arctic Char fish hatchery in the eastern Arctic, and has been recognized by the Foundation de la faune du Quebec for his part in biodiversity efforts and the protection of wildlife habitats.

Preface

How I came to know and love the Canadian Inuit Dog

Why would a librarian from Ottawa, Ontario, who has never lived in the Arctic or managed a dog team write a book about the Canadian Inuit Dog?

Canada’s Arctic Archipelago.

My daughter, Siu-Ling, lived on Baffin Island, the largest island in Canada’s Arctic Archipelago, where she owned a team of traditional Inuit Dogs. She started her dog team in 1999, after acquiring Atsuli, Aiviq and Fiddich from her friends Lynn Peplinski and Paul Crowley, longtime Arctic residents and Inuit Dog owners. The only female on Siu-Ling’s team was Lao, a gift from her friend Ken MacRury, an Inuit Dog authority and longtime Arctic resident. Ken taught Siu-Ling a lot about Inuit Dogs and dog sledding. He even helped her build a qamutiik, an Inuit-style sled.

Siu-Ling with Lao and puppies. Photo: Elise Maltinski.

Lao, the matron on Siu-Ling’s team. Photo: Siu-Ling Han.

When I visited Siu-Ling in Iqaluit, the capital of the northernmost Canadian territory of Nunavut, in 2001, she had two eight-week-old puppies, Toko and Rode (pronounced RO-dee), whom she had named after ski waxes. They were the offspring of Atsuli and Deneb, one of Matty McNair’s females. Matty is a world-renowned polar guide and adventurer living in Iqaluit and a friend of Siu-Ling’s. Matty and Siu-Ling bred and shared a number of Inuit Dogs.

A qamutiik, an Inuit-style sled. Photo: Siu-Ling Han.

Siu-Ling with Toko and Rode. Photo: Debbie McAllister.

When I saw Toko and Rode, it was love at first sight! They were the cutest, chubbiest, cuddliest pups I had ever seen. Like two bouncy balls of fur, they darted here and there, happily sniffing and exploring everything in their paths when we took them for a walk in the tundra. That was the spark that ignited my interest in these captivating aboriginal dogs.

Lots of handling and regular socialization help an Inuit Dog learn how to take his place in the pack, and in Inuit society. Photo: Lynn Peplinski.

Siu-Ling loved her dogs and took special care to keep them healthy and happy by giving them individual attention, and bringing them up in a way that honored Inuit cultural tradition.

Then, out of the blue, life threw her a curve ball.

When cancer struck in the spring of 2003, Siu-Ling moved back to Ottawa for treatment, but went back to Iqaluit to be with her dogs after her treatment was completed. That year we decided to spend our family Christmas at Siu-Ling’s in Iqaluit. Toko and Rode were two years old and had become full-fledged sled dogs. New additions had expanded the team even more.

During that holiday, Siu-Ling decided to take the family dog sledding. There are only five hours of daylight in Iqaluit in December, so we didn’t have much time. With an average temperature of -9.4° F (-23° C), not to mention the wind chill, we had to be outfitted with Arctic gear and big, bulky boots that look like moonboots.

Are we ready to go yet? Photo: Thomas Godfrey.

When we approached the dog yard, the dogs recognized Siu-Ling’s pick-up truck right away and started howling and jumping up and down in excitement, enthusiastically wagging their big, bushy tails. It was as if they were saying: Hello! We’re here! Let’s go for a run!

Near right: Sanniruaq (toggle) made of bone or antler. It is attached to the top of the harness. Photo: Debbie McAllister. Far right: Uqsiq, or fastening ring, which connects all traces to the pituk (see opposite page). Photo: Madeleine Cole.

After greeting and petting each dog, Siu-Ling harnessed them and attached a trace to the harness, which has a sanniruaq (toggle ) made of bone or antler at the end. Each dog has its own trace, a long rope with a loop at one end that hooks onto the sanniruaq. It is easily unhooked to let the dog run loose without removing the harness. At the other end of the trace is an uqsiq (fastening ring) that connects all traces to the pituk, a looped rope that attaches the dogs to the qamutiik.

The orange rope is the pituk, which attaches all the dogs to the sled, or qamutiik. Photo: Paul Crowley.

This was our first dog-sledding trip, and we were a bit apprehensive: There was nothing to hang onto, except for the backless seat of the qamutiik, which was lined with caribou fur. What if we fell off? How would we make the dogs stop? We couldn’t possibly run after them in those big, bulky boots. Siu-Ling told us not to worry, and just sit and relax. That was easier said than done. When the dogs took off at her command, we almost fell over backward from the jolt, but managed to hang on to the qamutiik as we zipped up and down hills over the rocky, snow-covered tundra, the dogs pulling and panting, with tongues hanging out and tails waving like plumes.

In the autumn of 2005, Toko — who had proven himself to be a great leader — and Lao produced five puppies. After they were weaned, Siu-Ling brought them to Ottawa for the Christmas holidays. She had started to handle the pups since the day they were born, because it was important for them to get used to people and, especially, children. Our granddaughter and neighborhood children visited almost daily and took turns playing with the puppies during their stay in Ottawa. The pups were barricaded on my front porch, squeaking, squealing, fighting, biting, howling and yowling, climbing and tumbling over each other. Getting to know these dogs is to fall in love with them, and become fascinated by their astonishing attributes, which are described in this book. It is awe-inspiring to learn how much they contributed to humankind, and how little they asked for in return.

Two of the Toko-Lao puppies get some socialization from the author’s granddaughter, Kina. Photo: Jeff Han.

Connie Maley, Siu-Ling and Matty McNair take a well-deserved break on the Baffin Island trip. Photo: Debbie McAllister.

Siu-Ling continued to live life to the fullest and enjoy her time in the serene Arctic with her beloved dogs. They were one of the reasons that made her life worth living, and in 2007 as well as 2008 she participated in the Qimualaniq Quest, a 200-mile (320-kilometer) race from Iqaluit to Kimmirut and back, placing third in 2007,